Improvement in substitutes for artificial hands



, J. REIOHENBAOH. ,SUB"S TITUT,E FOR ARTIFICIAL HANDS.

' No. 48,440. Patented June 27. 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN RETCHENBACH, OF PITTSBUBG, PENNSYLVANIA.

vIMPROVEMENT IN SUBSTITUTES FOR ARTIFICIAL HANDS,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,440, dated June 27,1865; antcdated .lun'c 17, 1863.

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN REICHENBAGH, of

the city of Pittsburg, in. the county of Allegheny and State Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Artificial Substitutes for the Natural Hand; and I. do

hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,"

ral hands an implement which shall be more efficient for many purposes than an artificial hand made with fingers, after the fashion of the naturalhand. Such an implement, which will enable the person usingit to take a firm hold of any article they may desire to carry or work with and release it at pleasure, will, in many cases, enable the user, when deprived of one of his natural hands, to pursue some handicraft, which he would otherwise be unable to do.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improvement, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawing, a is a frame or case, made of stout leather or other suitable material, into which the stump of the wearers arm isto be inserted. This case is hinged at b b, by a straphinge of iron or steel, to a sleeve-piece, c, which is designed to be wrapped around the upper part of the arm above the elbow, and secured by lacing d d, so as to befirlnlyattached thereto. The elbow of the wearerwill project, when the arm is bent, through the space between the sleeve 0 and case a.

To the inner side, or side next the body, of the sleeve 0 is riveted at e e a leather strap, f, with a buckle at g, so as to lengthen or shorten it. This strap unites just below the elbow with j a strong cord, t, of catgut or other suitable mato pass it down outside, as shown in the drawing. The cordi passes down to the end of the case a, where it passes over a small roller or pulley, 7r, which is fastened to the wrist-piece l of the case a. The wrist-piece is made of iron, and is attached to the end of the case a to give it the strength and firmness necessar r to operate the pair'of gripers which supply the place of fin gen.

The gripers are made like a pair of pinchers, and consist of two parts, m andn, united at the joint bya bolt,p. The jaws m n of the pair of gripers are made flat, and their inside and opposite faces-are slightly roughened, so as to take firm hold ofanythingplaced in their grasp. Around the bolt p; onboth sides of the gripers, is wound the-forwardend of a leaf-spring, 8, made of steel, the other extremity of which rests on the under side of a pin, t, which projects horizontally from the inner extremity of the lower griper-arm, a, just above the point where the catgutcord i is fastened to a loop at the end of the lower griper-arm, n.

The spring 8 (shown in the drawing on one side of the gripers) is constructed and attached to the gripers in the same manner as the other spring on the other side, which is not seen in the-figure. The effect of these springs sis to press up the lower arm, n, of the grip'ers and force their jaws together. The upper arm, m, of the gripers is fastened to the upper side of the wrist-piecel andextends some distance up the case'a, to which it is riveted.

1n the drawing a portion of thc wrist-piece is represented as removed to show the lower arm, n, of the gripers and the mode in which the springs is applied to it.

The operation of this substitute for an artificial hand. is as follows: When the arm is extended out, by straightening the elbow -joint,

fast without any effort or attention on the part ot' the wearer, and to release the hold it is only necessary to stretch out the arm and straighten the elbow, when the gripers will at once open for that purpose.

On top of the upper jaw, n, of the gripers I place a hook, q, which is screwed into the jaw n, and which may be removed or inserted at pleasure. This hook will be found very con- Venient in carrying various articles. the hookis removed a false hand with fingers and thumbs, and made hollow, may he slipped over the gripers, the wrist of the false hand fitting snugly over the wrist-piece I, so that when the 'gripers are notin use the implement may wear a more natural appearance.

Having thus described my improved instrument as a substitute for artificial hands, what I claim as my invention, and desire to sccure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The use of a pair of pinchers constructed substantially as described, attached toa case to be worn over the stump of the arm which has lost the natural hand, and operated by means of a cord attached to the arm above the elbow, as a substitute for an artificial hand.

2. The combination of thepinehers and hook, constructed substantially as described, for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN REI- CHENBAGH, have hereunto set my hand.

- JOHN REIOHENBACH. Witnesses:

JOHN M. NEAL, W. BAKEWELL. 

